Psycho-physical: Blanch Evan / Methods
I
Check in
Icebreaker
II
Unit: Psycho-physical
Theme: Blanch Evan / Methods
Introduction
Blanch Evan
Blanche Evan was a dancer and choreographer who was a pioneer in the development of dance
therapy. For 41 years she had a studio in New York
City in which she worked for 20 years teaching creative dance to
children and subsequently conducting dance therapy sessions for adults.
She was a founding member of the American Dance Therapy Association. Her
objective, she once said, was ''the integration of dance with therapy,
so that it becomes one.'' Although
Miss Evan received training at the Alfred Adler Institute of Individual
Psychology and was a member of its faculty, she regarded herself as a
dancer and choreographer first.
III
Learning Objectives
- Understand the concepts related to the Adlerian Theory
- Explain the use of self-creating goals
- Gain an awareness of concepts such as inferiority complex, self-ideal, coping and safe-guarding behavior
- Experience Evan's methodology
IV
Main Lesson
1
Alfred Adler
Alfred
Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of
the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of
feelings of inferiority, the inferiority complex, is recognized as an
isolating element which plays a key role in personality development. Named after its creator, Adlerian theory
refers to the practice and belief that people as individuals should be
validated, connected, and made to feel significant. The theory
was created in the early 1900's by Adler who founded this new
way to approach psychology after parting ways with Sigmund Freud. Adlerian therapy is a short-term, goal-oriented, and positive psychodynamic therapy.
Psychodynamic therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in a person's present behavior. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are the client's self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.
Psychodynamic
psychotherapy or psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a
form of depth psychology, the primary focus of which is to reveal the
unconscious content of a client's psyche in an effort to alleviate
psychic tension. This form of depth psychology (focused on revealing the
the client's unconscious content) aligns with dance/movement therapy's
premise that unconscious movement is the expression of the client's
psyche.
Question 1
1. Re-state the concepts above in your own words.
2
Self-Creative Goals
Question 2
How self-creative goals can be facilitated during a dance/movement therapy session?
Question 3
What was Adler's idea of inferiority complex, self-ideal, coping and safe-guarding behaviors?
-------------------
3
Blanche Evan's Methods
TEXTBOOK:
Chapter 2 (Page 44)
Question 4
What is dance improvisation?
4
From Bonnie Bernstein “Dancing Beyond Trauma”
Link
The work described in this
chapter is based on the theory and methods of Blanche Evan (Benov, 1991; Levy,
1988; Rifkin-Gamer, Bernstein, & Melso'n, 1984). The Evan approach
emphasizes restoring the client to her natural potential for expressive
movement and ''re-educating the body to a state wherein movement responses'
function" (Evan, 1951, p. 88). It also mobilizes the dynamic interaction
between the psyche and the body. Toward this end, the work includes dance
education and movement rehabilitation in addition to emphasis on in-depth
exploration of feelings and insight-oriented improvisation.
The Evan method serves as
primary, rather than adjunctive treatment, and is appropriate for clients who
possess the ego strength to tolerate in-depth self-examination.
Question 5
2. What is the main purpose of Evan's method?
Question 6
Based on what we have studied so far, is in-depth-examination appropriate for patients with schizophrenia? Explain.
-------------------
4
Terms
The following
section will provide a brief explanation of Blanche Evan's terms that are used
by the author to describe a session's sequences and interventions.
Psycho-physical
Psycho-physical refers to an experience that occurs concurrently on
psychological and physical levels and describes the complex impact that the
body has on the psyche, and that the psyche has on the body. A fundamental
concept of the Evan's method, psycho-physical implies that all human
experience' including emotional response, memory, and thoughts contain
kinesthetic components.
Body movement
is a direct outlet for the psyche, thus, through dance, the psycho-physical
realm can be fully expressed and explored to stimulate insight and mobilize
therapeutic change. "To experience psycho-physical unity is a basic
need" (Evan, 1949, p. 54).
Mobilization
Mobilization refers to sequences of directives that are formulated
to increase body awareness and broaden movement vocabulary through 'the exploration
of the elements of dance; that is, rhythm, space, intensity, body, movement,
and content. "A goal is to open up the client's body without taking away
defenses. Moving, expanding, and discovering the body without pointing it to
content" (Evan, 1978, personal communication). Three examples of
mobilizations are:
(1) a directive emphasizing body structure, such as
exploring the range of movement of the spine;
(2) a directive expanding the use
of dance elements, such as gradually varying tempo from very fast to very slow;
and
(3) a directive that encourages experimenting with new movement dynamics,
such as to explore leaping, sliding, lunging, and exploding.
Improvisation
Improvisation refers to the Evan method of insight-oriented dance,
characterized by free association in movement and guided by psychological,
physical, or psycho-physical themes. "Improvisation is dependent on
an over-all state of receptivity which is replaced with identification with
your theme. At the point of action, it is the summation of your past and
present. It is also the arbiter between reality and fantasy" (Evan, 1950,
p. 80).
Improvisation gives physical form to psychological experiences
and Evan states: "Honest improvisation is a direct route to the
unconscious" (Benov, 1991, p. 192).
In this work, content-evoking themes
are suggested by the therapist in response to a client's verbal and/or movement
communications. Four examples of improvisation techniques, as defined by Evan,
are: externalizing, enacting, physicalizing, and rehearsing.
-------------------------
5
IMPROVISATION TECHNIQUES
Externalizing
In externalizing
the client might "dance out" a dream, fantasy, or physical
memory.
Enacting
In enacting,
the client recreates a significant life experience, perhaps her assault, and
while dancing, she may embellish the life enactment with movement
derived from previously unexpressed feelings.
Physicalizing
Physicalizing involves putting into movement an idea, a memory, or
a feeling that has been previously stored in a cognitive realm.
Rehearsing
Rehearsing involves an improvisation in which alternative
responses are created and practiced in order to prepare for changes in behavior
outside of the therapy session.
Question 7
3. In which way is improvisation important for the client's healing?
V
A Note to Remember
Evan's
objective was the integration of dance with therapy,
so that it would become one.
VI
Case Study
(54:20 - 1:17:30)
Link: https://youtu.be/oMkU9Q5DoPs?si=EESbd3ur0C0gc_Cz
VII
Activity
Students work in pairs. One plays the witness and the other the client.
Externalizing
Students write down a dream, fantasy of physical memory and then express it in movement or dance.
Enacting
Students write about a significant life experience and then recreate it in movement/dance.
Physicalizing
Students write about an idea, memory or a feeling previously store cognitively.
Rehearsing
Students
write about the changes needed to creatively cope with a specific
challenge. Then, they improvise alternative creative- responses in order
to prepare for changes in behavior.
VIII
Journaling
Students write a reflection on their experience with Evan's improvisation techniques.
IX
Glossary
- Self-Ideal
- Superiority
- Lifestyle
- Weak-points
- Objective Inferiority
- Coping behaviors:
- Safe-guarding behaviors
- Distance seeking:
- External locus of control
- Inferiority Complex:
- Courage:
X
Student's Work
Make up Questions
Comments
Post a Comment